


Skin

by Lothiriel84



Series: There was this Bad Guy (let's call him Bad Guy) [4]
Category: MarsCorp (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Bogeyman, Creepy Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mentions of Myth & Folklore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-08-01 04:17:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16277642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lothiriel84/pseuds/Lothiriel84
Summary: If you peel away the armor is it too late to beginIs there anybody hiding if you peel away the skin





	Skin

“Oh, for Shareholders’ sake, Patrick – you were supposed to be _careful_ , remember?”

“I’m sorry, Master. It’s not that easy when you’re a giant spider trying to crawl your way through such crammed quarters. All the junk piled up on every available surface, you wouldn’t believe it.”

Colin shook his head in mild annoyance, and leaned over the bundle of clothes Mr Velvet had placed on the floor. The boy didn’t stir, nor did he appear to be breathing; the Big Guy Upstairs was going to throw a fit if they proved themselves unable to revive him – and more importantly, David was going to be completely traumatised if he ever found out.

“You should have disconnected him, at the very least,” he huffed, not quite sure how to go about resuscitating the seemingly lifeless tot. “It wouldn’t have taken a second, even if he’d already started screaming.”

Patrick was squirming with embarrassment by now. “I’m sorry, I just – panicked, I guess.”

“Well, go and see if you can retrace his spatio-temporal thread; we could still try and cut it off now.”

“Wouldn’t that kill him for good, if he’s already halfway through the worlds?”

Pushing the blankets aside, he gathered the child to himself, cradled one small hand between his own. It was ice-cold, and the skin had taken on a white-bluish tint; he checked for a pulse but couldn’t feel any, pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Do you have a better idea, Patrick?”

“I could try and bring him back, perhaps?”

He considered the suggestion, only to discard it a moment later. “He would be dead before you get through to his home world. We need to do something, right now.”

It was the sharp hiss coming from Mr Velvet that alerted him of David’s presence, far before he noticed the boy lurking in the doorway. _Marvellous_ , he sighed, and braced himself for his little friend’s reaction.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” David muttered in a barely audible tone, only to trail off as he finally noticed the small body laid limply across Colin’s lap. “What happened to him? Did you – is he – dead?”

“Not just yet, I shouldn’t think,” Colin replied, somewhat tiredly. “But he’s running out of time, I’m afraid.”

David took a few tentative steps across the room, until he was standing right in front of Colin and his charge. “Is there any way I could help?”

“I wish I knew, buddy,” he shrugged, even as he considered his options. He was about to instruct Mr Velvet to go and sever the child’s connection, and hope for the best, when David dropped to his knees and reached over to touch the boy’s unmoving face, gently brushing his copper fringe away from his forehead. It was as if a violent electric discharge had passed through his fingers and into the boy’s inert limbs; David recoiled in surprise, only for his wrist to be seized in a vice-like grip as the other child abruptly gasped back to life.

“Hey, easy now, buddy,” he murmured soothingly, gently unclasping the boy’s fingers from where they were digging into David’s forearm. “You’re going to be okay now.”

How had he not thought of it before? This child shared the same space-time continuum as David, and that had to count for something, even though there was hardly any literature at all on the subject of interdimensional shifts and the ensuing continuity shock.

The boy struggled briefly to free himself from his hold, only to slump back against him with a strangled cry as soon as he caught sight of Mr Velvet’s huge bulk crouched on the floor a mere few feet away. “M-m-monster!” he stuttered in terror, burying his face into the front of Colin’s shirt.

“Oh, no,” David piped in, in his usual helpful manner. “He’s not a monster, just an alien spider from a parallel dimension. He wouldn’t harm a fly – would you, Patrick?”

“Well...”

“He took Justin away! I saw him! He probably ate him, or something.”

“Nonsense,” Colin cut in, firmly. “We don’t eat children here, just take them away until they learn to behave.”

“Let me go,” the boy pleaded, his body shaken by sobs. “I want to go home.”

Colin exchanged one quick look with Patrick, then sighed. “I’m not quite sure that can be arranged. You weren’t supposed to see us, and now we can’t risk you giving our entire operation away.”

“You can stay with us,” David chirped in, more animatedly than ever before. “It’s a strange place, but you’ll grow to like it, I promise.”

There was a long silence, interrupted only by the sniffling of the new boy. Eventually, he let Colin wipe away the last of his tears, and help him back to his feet; he had regained some colour by now, and was glancing hesitantly at David as if waiting for guidance, even if he looked at least a couple of years older than David himself was.

“So, that’s settled then. David, you show your new friend around – I’ll be upstairs, doing my paperwork.”

“And I’ll see if I can rustle something up for lunch,” Patrick grinned, slinking away towards the kitchen. The new boy squeaked as he passed him by, and clutched onto David’s arm for support.

“Don’t be afraid, he’s a really nice spider, and the best friend you could hope for,” David smiled reassuringly, offering him his hand. “Him, and Colin, too.”

“Yes, well,” Colin mumbled under his breath as he left the two kids in each other’s company, and headed for the stairs. _No need to get all soppy about it_ , he reminded himself, somewhat sternly. Sure, it was nice to have David here, but he shouldn’t let himself get carried away; the boy’s affections were nowhere near enough to redeem him from his plethora of sins – not in the eyes of the Big Guy Upstairs, at any rate.

He could but hope that their latest acquisition wouldn’t end up causing too much trouble.


End file.
